Click here to sign up for the Valencia Resources and videos!

(Helpful to all of our Grenadiers considering college.)

The Exceptional Student Education (ESE) department is excited to host the Big IDEA Conference Saturday, April 17 for families of students with exceptionalities. The purpose of the conference is to collaborate, empower, bring awareness, and support families of students with exceptionalities.

To find out more information and to register for the conference, please visit bigidea.ocps.net.

We have an amazing opportunity that we would love you to be part of! On April 8th at 6:00 PM we have a spectacular guest coming to our PTSA/SAC meeting. The meeting will be held at the freshman campus.

The presenter’s name is Alison Maurer and she will be doing a session on Managing stress with Mindfulness. Please see the flyer below and take a moment to sign up. It is a great opportunity for our families and staff!

1) If you have not completed FAFSA, do so now. Many colleges expect to see this information to give you the most complete merit aid package. That’s right, even for merit aid, many schools want to see it! If you need help completing your FAFSA, contact Mr. Witham or your counselor.

2) Once you have decided which school you want to attend, pay any deposits required for that school. Also, notify the other schools you will NOT be attending. This will free up space for other students who are on waiting lists.

3) Apply for scholarships. Pay attention to deadlines and the way the scholarship wants you to submit (electronically, by mail, or handed in somewhere). Do not wait until the last minute to apply. Again, take advantage of our College and Career Center while you are still at Colonial. Additionally, you can search using sites like scholarships.com, fastweb.com, and jlvcollegecounseling.com to name a few.

4) Make certain you have completed the FFAA (Florida Financial Aid Application). This is also known as the Bright Futures Application, but it covers many other scholarships as well. Even if you don’t have the qualifying test scores, you should complete it. For instance, did you know it triggers the EASE Grant which is given to all Florida students attending private universities within the state?

We encourage our Grenadiers to take action on their college financial aid opportunities sooner vs. later if they have yet to do so. Data from the past 20 years shows that the average cost of tuition and fees for private and public National Universities has risen significantly since 2000 for both in-state and out-of-state students. While inflation has risen about 50% over the last 20 years the cost of tuition has doubled, tripled, or quadrupled at many schools.

Source: U.S. News & World Report; Read full article

1) Activate your SCOIR account. You will be using this platform to manage your college application process. SCOIR Activation Link

2) Build Your Resume: Get involved in your community through service, volunteerism, work or participating in events where you build your passion and develop skills. All of these things will become part of what you present to colleges and scholarship organizations. Keep track of EVERYTHING you do outside of the regular school day experience.

3) Clean Up Any Mistakes: Do you have a grade on your transcript that you are not happy with? See your counselor to determine if retaking the class for “grade forgiveness” is an option. Grades earned on high school classes that you took in middle school can be retaken if you earned a C or lower. For high school classes, it is a D or lower. Some classes are available during summer school, but others you might only be available through OCVS or FLVS. See your counselor!

FSA ID: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/filling-out/fsaid

FAFSA Application: https://fafsa.gov/

CSS Profile: https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/

To order: www.herfforlando.com

OCPS provides students and families with multiple supports at both the school and district level. Below are descriptions of our three support services departments and how they can assist you. If you have a need, please complete the survey and a staff member will be in touch within 1-2 business days. If you are experiencing an emergency or need immediate assistance, please call 911.

Mental Health Services: This team is comprised of social workers, school psychologists, mental health counselors, and mental health support specialists, highly trained to improve the quality of life and well-being of students, families, and school staff by providing a broad range of services, including prevention strategies or interventions such as counseling, consultation, for those experiencing ranges of mental health issues and referrals for long-term services, and supports in the community.

Psychological and Social Services: This team is comprised of highly trained school social workers and school psychologists that provide a wide-range of direct and indirect services to address the needs of students, families, and school staff. This includes partnering with schools to provide family-school collaboration services, conducting evaluations for special education services, crisis prevention and intervention, and the facilitation of community resources to support students and families.

McKinney-Vento Program (MVP) or Homeless Education: This team is comprised of social workers and resource teachers who can specifically assist families that due to hardship are currently living in cars, on the streets, in a shelter, in a hotel, or sharing housing due to hardship. Services provided are assistance with food supports, immediate enrollment, transportation to school, and possibly consistency of school placement.

Take the survey here: https://ocps.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9XoB3I0TGhQ9kfr

It's so simple that it's revolutionary. The fact is, this formula or principle is misunderstood enough, or overlooked enough, that it can be called magic by those who understand it. Ready? Here it is. You can beat 50 percent of the people in America by working hard. You can beat another 40% by being a person of honesty and integrity and standing for something. The last 10 percent is competition in the free enterprise system.

The lesson for our Grenadiers? Effort and personal character matter greatly in high school, college, and in the work force. For those of our Grenadiers that want to own their own business one day, this really rings true. Be the best you can be and never be afraid to compete. With confidence and preparation, you will succeed!

Misty Copeland On Authenticity

All you can do is be your best self. I've always felt that I had to be that much more aware of how I present myself. I'm representing more than just me. I think every person should think that way.

Gary Oldman On Confidence

What other people think of me is none of my business.

Vince Lombardi On Punctuality

If the bus leaves at 7:15 and you're not here at 7:00, you're late.

Andrew Carnegie On Effort

There are two types of people who never achieve much in their lifetime. The person who won't do what he is told, and the person who does no more than he is told.